Monumental Moments in History: A Florence Walking Tour

(31 reviews)

Florence audio tour: Monumental Moments in History: A Florence Walking Tour

This is a 1.3mi walking tour

It takes an average of 60 mins to complete.

Florence

Italy

$7.99

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About the Tour

Florence may be known as the cradle of the Renaissance, but its history goes back to antiquity. This city has weathered the centuries between prosperity and great disasters and, on this walking tour, I’ll point out several monuments that tell this story.

Starting in front of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in the picturesque Piazza del Duomo, you‘ll stroll through the city‘s ancient streets. You‘ll walk through several squares including Piazza della Signoria, Piazza Santa Trinita, and Piazza della Repubblica, where our tour ends. Along the way, I‘ll tell you all about the city‘s history, from its construction to the present day, punctuated by amusing anecdotes and my own personal gastronomic recommendations. I‘ll tell you about the influential Medici family, and the guilds and the civil war that raged in the Middle Ages. You‘ll see the over 600-year-old Giotto‘s Bell Tower, the Tree of Peace sculpture that commemorates the lives lost during a 1993 terrorist attack, and Fontana del Porcellino, the boar-shaped fountain, where you can give its muzzle a stroke to bring good fortune!

On this Florence walking tour, you‘ll have a chance to:

Travel through 2,000 years of history
See must-see sites like the impressive and palatial Strozzi Palace and Palazzo Vecchio which were owned by rival families, the Strozzis and the Medicis
Learn about the history of some of the city‘s churches including Santi Apostoli, the Church and Museum of Orsanmichele, and the Basilica di Santa Trinita
Explore the narrow streets of the city centre as you make your way to Uffizi Gallery
Partake in the city‘s gastronomic traditions by enjoying a tasty treat at the new market, Mercato del Porcellino, or at Perché No ice cream parlour
Discover why Ponte Vecchio was the only bridge not to be destroyed by the Germans in World War II

By the end of this 60-minute tour of Florence, you‘ll have a greater appreciation for the city, its rich cultural heritage, and lesser-known stories.

Tour Producer

Julie Thomas

11 tours

Hi, I‘m Julie, I‘m French and I moved to Florence in 2013, with a degree in art history from the Ecole du Louvre in my pocket. I immediately fell in love with the city and this adoration has never left me. So I discovered Florence with a passion, a city that (literally) made my head spin, and I soon wanted to find out more, to discover its secrets, its gastronomy, and its surroundings (let‘s face it, Tuscany is the most beautiful region in Italy!).

Finally, in 2019, I became a tour guide to share my Florentine adventure with you and help you discover this captivating history and heritage. And that‘s why I‘ve created these audio guides. I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as I enjoyed recording them.
See you soon in the streets of Florence !

Preview Location

Location 1

Place, facade

Hello and welcome to Florence. My name is Julie, I'm French but Florentine at heart since 2013 and I've been a certified tourist guide since 2019.

Thank you very much for purchasing this audioguide. During this tour, you'll see the most important sites of Florence and I'm d... Hello and welcome to Florence. My name is Julie, I'm French but Florentine at heart since 2013 and I've been a certified tourist guide since 2019.

Thank you very much for purchasing this audioguide. During this tour, you'll see the most important sites of Florence and I'm delighted to accompany you in your discovery of a so wonderful and rich in history.

Let's get started.

You're starting in front of the city’s most iconic building: the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. On the square, you can see three monuments: the cathedral, the baptistery and the Campanile. All these buildings date from different eras so let's try to summarize the history of this place together.

The first known monument is the baptistery, which dates from around the 5th century. As its name suggests, it's the place where future Christians were to be baptized. Across from the baptistery, you could find a small church dedicated to Saint Reparata. But Florence grew rich in the Middle Ages and this church became too small for the city and its new economic power. It was then destroyed and another much larger cathedral took over. The first stone was laid in 1296 and its construction lasted more than 150 years.

Let me tell you the somewhat peculiar story of the facade of this cathedral. The original one was made in the 1400s. At that time, all the sculptors were gathered on this site, which was also one of the first major sculpture sites of the Renaissance. But in 1587, Duke Francis the First of Medici decided that this facade was no longer fashionable and had it dismembered. However, between the wars, the lack of money, and everyday life events, the cathedral remained incomplete until the 1800s. It was indeed at this time that a major plan for the renovation of the city was launched, which was even more important since in 1865, Florence became the capital city of the new unified Italy. And yes, Florence had to be worthy of this role as a capital city. After many contests and vicissitudes, the architect Emilio de Fabbris eventually won the project and created the new facade in 1871, even though Florence was no longer the capital city of Italy.

Next to this cathedral, you can see a high tower. It's the bell tower, almost 85 meters high. Several architects took part in its construction throughout the 1300s. The iconographic program, that is to say what the sculptures and bas-reliefs represent, recalls human activities, the planets, the Virtues and the prophets.

Let's get going. Now go across the square to the right side of the bell tower to have a beautiful view of the dome which we're going to talk about right away.

While you walk, let me explain how VoiceMap works.

VoiceMap uses your phone's GPS location to automatically play audio tracks. Don't worry if I'm silent sometimes, just keep walking and you'll hear the next explanation. I'll give you as many directions as possible to guide you through the city and to allow you to keep your phone in your pocket, but don't hesitate to look at the map if you think you're lost. You can also stop the audio whenever you want to, to take the time to observe what's around you. Read More

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How VoiceMap Works

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Major Landmarks

Piazza della Signoria
Palazzo Vecchio
Uffizi Galleries
Ponte Vecchio
Piazza Santa Trinita
Strozzi Palace
Piazza della Repubblica
Piazza del Duomo
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
Giotto's Bell Tower
Torre della Castagna
Church and Museum of Orsanmichele
Fontana del Porcellino
Baptistery of St. John
Il braccio fiorentino
Mercato del Porcellino

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Piazza del Duomo, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Total distance

2km
Final location
Piazza della Repubblica, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
Distance back to start location

229.21m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour starts on Piazza del Duomo, between the Cathedrale of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Baptistery.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

All the stops worth a visit will be indicated during the tour

Best time of day

To be able to enter in the courtyard of Palazzo vecchio, I suggest to .do this tour Monday Tuesday Wednesday Friday Saturday Sunday between 9 am and 7 pm, and Thursday between 9 am and 2 pm

Precautions

For this tour, bring good shoes, a bottle of water that you can refill on the way and a hat in summer.

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“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”

App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”